'The' Life

Strolling on the searing sands of the Marina- at about three in the afternoon of a scorching summer day- made me regret our decision of choosing to go there. But as we were there already, we chose to stick to our course and headed closer to the shore. We had a bottle of 7up, a cup of Gluco-plus and a cigarette-for Gowtham, as company. I was under the impression that he'd brought me there simply because we had nothing else to do, but once we were perched on the relatively cooler sands, a few feet away from the salty waters, he opened up. Blowing out a stream of smoke into the gentle breeze, he started a somber narration of the events that had unfolded in the past few months of his life.

He'd come across an old schoolmate of his on-board public transport, and she'd flashed him a smile that'd had him going nuts. He'd then ransacked his contacts, got in touch with some of his old friends and managed to coax them into giving him her contact details. He'd then started having long ardent chats with her and eventually he'd proposed his love for her. But before the girl could develop any significant feelings for him, one of her guy-friends stepped in, and boy did he mess things up! Sensing that the girl had begun drifting apart from him- thanks to his new newly found rival- he'd come out of his shell and confessed his undying love for her, which'd then screwed things up and left my friend fending for himself.

All the while he was lamenting, I could do little else than to stare into the distance and give him occasional nods of recognition. I was well aware that only time healed such wounds and that I was of little help. As he was pointing out to how better off he would've been if it weren't for that girl, storm clouds slowly began invading the late afternoon sky, and gradually made their way towards the horizon. The offshore winds from the tainted skies started overwhelming the sea breeze and we were left craving for a rain storm. If anything could soothe a tormented soul, it was a tropical shower on the shores of a beach. But the rains kept us waiting and we were losing hope. 

Gowtham then told me that he needed to spend some time alone. I couldn't deny him the pleasure and so we started walking separate ways, heading in different directions. Before long, a drop of rain hit against the back of my palm. As I looked to the skies with a keen sense of joy blossoming within me, the heavens opened up. The people on the shore were scurrying to find cover but I stood my ground, allowing the rain to dowse me to the last inch. It was exciting, enthralling, absolutely exhilarating. The droplets extricated me off of my dumbing numbness and an overwhelming emotion gushed to my surface. The weight of what Gowtham had described hit me and I could feel his pain of having to cope with a broken heart. But the cool shower was unrelenting and I could feel it cleansing me off of every vile emotion. I wanted to laugh out loud, I wanted to roll over and cry my heart out, I wanted to pray. The sight was so beautiful and the shower so refreshing, it could make any grown man cry. I couldn't remember the last time when I had my emotions heightened to such an extent. Gowtham ought to have enjoyed it as well. 

I strode along the shore on a lookout for him, all the while stifling a laugh- a laugh that kept popping out of nowhere with no need or purpose. I guess I just wanted to laugh at how extra-ordinary life can turn out to be at times when you least expect it. I caught sight of Gowtham at a distance, diving into the torrents. I half jogged, half sprinted to join him. We got rid of our t-shirts and allowed the waves to wash over us. We then screamed as loud as we could afford, alleviating us of all our pent up emotions. The storm brought with it an array of lightning and there was every possibility of us getting hit by at-least one of them. To be honest, I was a bit scared. But then I reminded myself, what better way is there to die? We danced in the downpour like mad men until we were exhausted. 

The rain slowed down to a drizzle and later halted. Not minding the showers, I'd taken out my cell phone and had snapped a few pictures of our outing. After all, what better way is there to remind myself of one of the best days of my life?